[EM] Gerrymandering

[robert bristow-johnson]

On 12/3/12 8:00 AM, Jonathan Denn wrote:
> Fair Redistricting or Ending Gerrymandering is always a great "grievance" among electoral reformers. But the "solution" is much more elusive. Do you folks ever venture into that area?
>

can't say that i've done anything about it, but i have studied a little 
bit about the math that defines Apportionment where the 435 
Representatives in the House are apportioned among the 50 U.S. states.  
the current method is this Huntington-Hill method and i am still 
somewhat dubious of it.

about redistricting, how the lines get drawn, i wish that there would be 
an algorithm that would do it without the input from the state 
legislatures, because we *know* they do that with political 
self-interest in mind.  here is a consequence: in the November 2012 
election, not only did the Democrats win the presidency, keep control of 
the Senate and gain seats both in the Senate and in the House, it turns 
out that even though the House retained GOP control that *more* voters 
in the U.S. that voted in the House races voted for Democrat candidates 
than voted for GOP candidates.  i say this everytime a GOP apologist 
claims that they have a mandate (to obstruct Obama) in the House.  how 
is it that more voters voted Democrat yet there are more GOP 
representatives elected?  i presume because of gerrymandering.  it must 
be the case that in most of the races where the GOP candidate wins, that 
they won with a smaller margin than in the races where the Dem candidate 
won.

-- 

r b-j                  rbj at audioimagination.com

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."